FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Chris Holden | @MonsieurHolden | 952.848.4100

Dear Normandale Families,



The Intern Committee wrapped up Rally Month this week on a positive note. We met our host family goal and will be able to offer positions to 27 French interns for next school year! Rally month is truly a team effort. Thank you to all the families that volunteered to serve as host families or partner families next year. Rally Month coordinators Sheri Rosen and Rose Norman worked hard throughout the month of January to generate interest and share information about hosting a French intern. Sharon Norlander, one of Normandale’s Intern Recruiters, is in France now and will be making offers to interns in the next few weeks. The Intern Committee and I are hopeful that the visa process will go smoothly this spring and summer so that we can welcome all our French interns to Edina in August!

2022 NORMANDALE READ-A-THON

Our 3rd annual Read-A-Thon, La lecture, c’est magique! (Reading, it’s magic!) is underway. This is an all school, student driven fundraiser benefiting the Normandale PTO and our French Intern program. Students can now start asking friends and families for pledges and log their reading minutes. 

• More information can be found here
• Donations can be made here
• Reading logs can be turned in weekly to classroom teachers
• All minutes spent reading or listening, independently or together and in any language, can be logged
• The more you read = the more chances to win fabulous weekly raffle reading prizes

Our school goal is to have the students of Normandale read 500,000 minutes during the month of February! This is 30 minutes per day for 4 weeks! WE CAN DO IT! La lecture, c’est magique!

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR - FEBRUARY 8 & 9

Our annual Scholastic Book Fair is Tuesday and Wednesday, February 8-9 in the Normandale Auditorium. Books in English and French will be available!

Tuesday, February 8 from 8:45am-5:00pm

Wednesday, February 9 from 8:45am-6:00pm

How can you shop?

• Students will visit the book fair with their classrooms on Tuesday, February 8. Send money in a Ziploc bag with their name. Any checks must be made out to NORMANDALE PTO.
• Prefer to not send cash? Sign up for Scholastic e-wallet. 
• Students can shop during recess on Wednesday only if they have Scholastic e-wallet funds or payment with them.
• Come and shop with your student during parent shopping hours:
• Tuesday 2/8 3pm-5pm
• Wednesday 2/9 8am-6pm
• Shop online February 7 through February 20.

Volunteers still needed! Sign up to help here.

LOST AND FOUND

Once again, our lost and found is overflowing! Hats! Jackets! Sweatshirts! More mittens than a centipede needs! Items will be in the lobby from Tuesday Feb 8 through Friday Feb 11.  Stop by between 7:30am and 6pm to claim lost items. Items not claimed by Friday Feb 11 at 6pm will be donated. 

ORDER YOUR NORMANDALE YEARBOOK BY FEBRUARY 14

If you haven’t ordered your student’s yearbook please do so by Feb 14^th using this link. Not sure if you ordered one yet? Contact Shannon Case at the main office 952-848-4100   

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS - GET IN ON THE FUN!

Community Connections events are LIVE on our Membership Toolkit platform! There are many great events for parents and kids in all grades still open for participation. Winter is long; support French Immersion in the Edina Public Schools and delight your family with fun experiences!

LUNCHTIME VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We need 2 volunteers on Fridays to help serve hot lunch. Volunteers will need to be masked (please bring your own) and wear a hairnet (provided at school). You may have to do some light lifting (i.e. moving pans of food to the serving area).

Please sign up HERE if you are able to help!

We need volunteers EVERY DAY to supervise home lunch in the Normandale Auditorium. Please sign up HERE if you are able to help. Volunteers are what allows us to offer a separate space for home lunch students.

GOOD NEWS!

Need rapid tests at home? White House passed a bill allowing every household to access 4 COVID tests, free of cost You can order 4 free tests to be delivered via USPS!

COVIDtests.gov - Free at-home COVID-19 tests

REMINDER

Please make sure to send your student to school with a water bottle EVERYDAY. Due to COVID, the drinking fountains have been turned off. The water bottle refiller is still on.

EDINA COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Our virtual screening event of Screenagers Next Chapter: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience on February 8^th is now free thanks to the support of the Edina Ed Fund. Following the screening, stay for a discussion with Natasha Monsaas-Daly, Director of Media and Technology Services; and Jeff Jorgenson, Director of Student Support Services. Sign up here: edinacommunityed.com/Screenagers

Community Ed is looking for exceptional speakers to represent the widest possible spectrum of ideas and point of views for our TEDxEdina event next October. We want to bring new ideas and thinking to our community and we want you to share your ideas with us. Applications are due February 25^th. Sign up here: edinacommunityed.com/TEDxEdina

Community Ed Summer Registration Opens February 15 at 8:00am.

Check out our 400+ camps and classes for age 2 through grade 12, our all-day care for incoming kindergarten through outgoing 5th grade, and employment and volunteer opportunities. Register on Edina Eleyo.

EDINA PCN - PARENT COMMUNICATION NETWORK

• Do you enjoy hearing from experts on parenting topics?
• Are you looking to volunteer in the community?
• A volunteer opportunity that doesn’t involve fundraising?
• Do you want to shape the parenting topics that PCN brings to our community?

Edina Parent Communication Network (PCN) has a goal to support parents and educators to build stronger families and a stronger community. In the past year, PCN has brought forums on the topics of Sleep, Importance of Play, Amazing Marriage, Navigating Big Feelings with Kids. And two upcoming forums on “Five Things Today’s Teens Wish Their Parents Knew” and “Youth Sports Culture Today.” As a volunteer, there is a minimal commitment: one hour-long meeting a month, attend 4-5 forums a year, and do some research on speakers outside of the meetings.

If you are interested in joining us, please email Stephanie Braman, robertsbraman@hotmail.com and/or attend an upcoming volunteer meeting. It is with the community’s help that we can make these events happen. More information at edinapcn.com.

Volunteer Information Meeting

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Noon – 1pm

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4625686416

And available at edinapcn.com

MERCY CLOSET

If you are in need of winter clothing, check out Mercy Closet for no cost, gently used winter items. For more information, please visit https://www.mercycommons.net/mercy-closet-1

Normandale PTO| [normandalepto.org]